Or maybe they're already here. It's Saturday afternoon, so you'd think they'd already be checked in to the hotel, have completed their walk-through, and are trying to find their game faces for tomorrow.
I wonder how many Cleveland fans will be in the Dome Sunday? Do Cleveland fans travel well? Does New Orleans and/or the Gulf South have a strong transplanted Ohio population? I've always enjoyed the costumery of the Dawg Pound and hope at least a few of them make it down in all their splendor.
It's been a quiet Saturday so far, but you can click over to read and see all that there is to see in the last 24 hours of Saints news heading into tomorrow's game.
usama_young28 Yea, ima go back and forth between Jerry Maguire and the Rangers Yankees game
JonVilma51 I posted 3 photos on Facebook in the album "bday" http://fb.me/K1vsKRzR
MalcolmJenkins just saw Jackass 3D lol... i thought it was hilarious !! now i can relax and watch film on a more serious note #gameface
JonVilma51 I posted 3 photos on Facebook in the album "bday2" http://fb.me/xsUoyHcw
JonVilma51 I posted a new photo to Facebookhttp://fb.me/xzQsAoDu
alexbrown96 Yeah!!! Next Year!!! Hahahahaha RT @rwgooch: @alexbrown96 Yankees coming back
JonVilma51 It's Marvin mitchells bday and since we couldn't get him a cake,,,this was the next best idea lolol. Happy birthday!!! http://fb.me/w3CkAKJu
JonVilma51 Couple more pics of the carhttp://fb.me/MkIZb7DI
usama_young28 The game's over, movie's over... Time to get on some Browns' film
ivory_29 @jgoody76 man boy goodwin i fanilly made one
ChaseDaniel Texas Rangers!!!
ivory_29 @ChaseDaniel its bout time
ivory_29 almost 700 folks in 24hrs yall surprised me thank u for all the love 36hrs gametime!!!!!!! #whodat
ivory_29 nite saints!!!!!!!!
ChaseDaniel RT @mutigersdotcom We're an hour from @GameDayFootball and the Quad is already rocking. Prepare for your minds to be blown, America.
dmcallister26 Just made it to Jordan Hare Stadium a lot of fans are out and about
Jmack37 Watching my Temple Owls
Jmack37 Univ of buffalo has a linebacker 6'7" 237 pounds
T_Porter22 About to get this phresh kut...no designs this week tho
JonVilma51 its getting close Who Dats...by this time tomorrow its on and poppin!!!
T_Porter22 For my 10,000th follower I will have n autographed pic sent to u from @Official_Saints...deadline is midnight tonight!
MalcolmJenkins Relaxing watching a lil college football
Saints vs. Browns
Saints: Hard hits part of the game | 2theadvocate.com
Sheldon Mickles
Fujita tries to stay focused as he returns to New Orleans 2theadvocate.com
Les East
New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator says injuries won't cool his ardor for the blitz | NOLA.com
James Varney
Checking the injuries that matter most - NFC South Blog - ESPN
Paging Dr. Yasniskas - The final injury reports are all in, so let's take a look at the significant injuries around the NFC South.
Browns vs. Saints
Cleveland plans to stick with Eric Wright as he works through slump: Browns Insider | cleveland.com
Mary Kay Cabot with Jodie Valade - The Browns acknowledge that cornerback Eric Wright's in a slump, but they believe he's doing everything possible to bust out of it. HANS-NOTE: What is it they said in Bull Durham? Oh yeah, "Don't f*** with the streak." We'd love to see him keep that slump going.
Dealing with new rules | clevelandbrowns.com
Matt Florjancic (and you thought Yasinskasas was hard to say/type) - Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan does not feel the new punishments regarding hits to the helmet will hurt the game of football.
Game Preview: Browns-Saints | clevelandbrowns.com
Matt Florjancic - The Browns and Saints will meet in an inter-conference game in the Louisiana Superdome Sunday afternoon.
Cribbs probable for Sunday | clevelandbrowns.com
Matt Florjancic - Friday injury report.
Up against the Browns: New Orleans Saints - CantonRep.com
Steve Doerschuk - How the New Orleans Saints stack up against the Cleveland Browns in Sunday's game.
Browns' Fujita natural leader | ohio.com
Stephanie Storm - Linebacker still maintains fondness for New Orleans.
Lagniappe
Tom Benson praises Joe Horn as 'heart and soul' of New Orleans Saints for a long time | NOLA.com
James Varney - Saints Hall of Fame inductee to be honored at Sunday's game.
City to crack down on illegal vendors outside 'Dome on gamedays | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Staff report with video. The city of New Orleans says it's cracking down on illegal vending outside the Superdome during Saints home games. Watch out, scalpers!
Transcripts
New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Post-Practice Press Conference - Friday, October 22, 2010
Opening Statement:
"Our final injury report for this week is the following, Drew Brees today knee, full, probable; Jon Stinchcomb full, probable; Zach Strief, knee, full, probable; Anthony Waters, hamstring, full, probable; Leigh Toraance, shoulder, full, probable; Jahri Evans, hamstring, full, probable; Julius Jones, shoulder, full, probable; Patrick Robinson, knee, limited, probable. Will Smith, groin, limited, probable; Roman Harper, hamstring, limited, probable; Scott Shanle, limited, hamstring, questionable; Jabari Greer, shoulder, did not practice, questionable and the following three players did not practice and they're out; Reggie Bush did not practice. He's out. Tracy Porter, knee, did not practice. He's out. Running back Pierre Thomas did not practice. He's out.
Have you made a decision on Darren Sharper's status?
"Not yet. We just keep looking at it. We'll look at the practice tapes today, the snaps he played and see how he's feeling in the morning."
Does Quincy Butler play special teams?
"He can. He would play on all four (teams) and also in the sub (defensive package)."
Is your decision on Darren solely based on practice? If he's healthy and 100 percent is he a guy you want back in the lineup?
"That would be pretty obvious. We'd like to see him if you feel like the residuals each day after the practice, how he feels tomorrow. We have plans for him if he's up and on the roster and playing, as well as if he's not."
What about Jabari Greer's status after not practicing all week?
"I listed him as questionable because there's an outside chance. We'll see where he's at tomorrow and possibly work him out Sunday. (Scott) Shanle the same way in regards to working him out."
When you deal with Sharper and determine whether or not to get him up, do you need to see him in a game environment or would his experience along matter to that?
"Yes, but what you have to gather are you had to potentially compromise your roster when you do that. You're weighing all those things."
Do you think most people in this situation would need a pseudo training camp for a week or two?
"I think it depends on the player and the position he's playing."
What is the status of guys like Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Tracy Porter in terms of their progress?
"They are (making progress). Tracy's on schedule. Reggie's on schedule. Clearly Pierre would be behind where we anticipated. That's probably been the more frustrating one."
When you say on schedule is that to be available before the bye week?
"Each one's different. I know in Reggie's case, he's shooting for the Pittsburgh Steeler game. With Tracy, it would probably be the week after that."
Where does Pierre Thomas stand?
"We'll see. I'm not going to speculate anymore on his injury."
Josh Cribbs was given the go-ahead to play today. Does that change anything for you guys?
"I think our practice throughout the week has been with the idea that he was going to play in all the aspects that he does, which is a lot. That's how we've prepared."
You guys have not seen a lot of true Wildcat except for in Miami last year. What kind of challenges does that bring?
"Fundamentally from a football standpoint, it gains their players back when the direct snap can be run. You go from 10 vs. 11, which are typically how the game's played with the quarterback being the 11th guy to 11 vs. 11, which presents challenges, particularly in the run game."
Would it surprise you that Peyton Hillis is leading both Felix Jones and Darren McFadden in the former Arkansas runners in rushing?
"He's played well. We've seen a lot of film this week of him. Certainly you go back and see him when he was at Denver. He's doing a good job. He runs hard and he's a smart football player."
Does he compare to Mike Alstott?
"I don't know if that would be a good comparison. I think Mike was probably a little bit closer to a fullback. I think Peyton Hillis is a guy who is a true runner and certainly a good blocker. I think there are some differences."
Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference 10-22-10
(Opening statement)- "Good morning everybody. I think you guys had an opportunity to visit with Condoleezza Rice yesterday as we did and the guys really enjoyed it. She spent some time talking with the team and answering questions. She was so impressive, one, her accomplishments are so impressive but even in talking to her and hearing some of her thoughts and some of the stories that she shared we really appreciated it as a group. Plus she's a die-hard Browns fan which we always enjoy visits from die-hard Browns fans. Today we are going to work on our red zone and clear some things up from the third down yesterday and a few things on first and second down that I think we need to tighten up. I thought Colt (McCoy) had another good day yesterday and has made strides from last week to this week so that's been positive. In terms of the guys that are going to miss today it will be Jake (Delhomme), Seneca (Wallace), John St. Clair and Mohamed (Massaquoi), everyone else should be out and practicing."
(On if Joshua Cribbs is practicing today)- "Yes."
(On if Cribbs is on track to be ready for Sunday)- "Yes, he should be ready for Sunday baring any setbacks."
(On if they can rule out Massaquoi)- "No, I wouldn't rule him out yet. He just hasn't reached that next step."
(On how good it will be to have Cribbs for the game on Sunday)- "He does so many things and he does so many things well that it just creates a lot of options offensively. Obviously his ability in the return game, that changes the way teams have to deal with us so that's a real plus. There are so many elements Mary Kay (Cabot), that he helps us. It's great to have him back."
(On if he has a problem with Cribbs tweeting about how James Harrison is still his boy even though he was injuring other Browns players)- "I haven't read any tweets, I'm not on his tweet list or whatever it's called. You can ask Josh in terms of what he meant, knowing Josh it would never be anything disparaging against one of his teammates, his team, him and Mohamed are very close. Really, talk to him about it, I haven't seen the tweets or any of that stuff."
(On why Cribbs' big play production is off this season)- "He's catching more passes, the Wildcat has been used in different amounts throughout the course of the year. I think his made some big catches, I think he's made important catches. I don't think Josh sneaks up on anybody. Teams have had more time now to deal with the Wildcat. They've had a whole offseason. There are a lot of things that go into stopping that and I think they've spent a lot of time stopping that so trying to continue to evolve there. In the return game, there's a concerted effort by every team we play to get the ball away from him. We can try to position him in as many spots as possible to get him the ball but if they're not going to kick it to him there's not much we can do about that."
(On Pittsburgh players saying that stopping Cribbs was their top priority and how he changes the flow of the game even when he isn't always touching the ball)- "I think that quote alone shows you the importance that teams place on not letting him ruin the game and that can be not letting him ruin the game in the return game or not letting him ruin the game in the Wildcat. Whether or not he touches the ball, the volume of time and energy and thought that has to go into preventing that takes away from their ability to prepare for the other things so there's real value in that. Anytime you can have a package like the Wildcat or use him on things like reverses and the important thing is for him to be a legitimate receiver which he is so that he's not only going in when those packages are going to be there. Now you have the ability to balance up what you want to do and force them to defend all of the options when he's in the game."
(On what Lance Moore brings to the table)- "As a returner, I've enjoyed watching him I think he's aggressive as a returner. He'll take some chances that some guys won't and that has led to some big plays. As a receiver, that group is loaded and he is continuing to become more and more of an explosive option. Whether it's deep balls, as a returner he has good ability to make people to miss in the open field so there will be some catch and run type plays. They use him on some screens where he'll bluff then get the ball. He's become another really good option for Drew Brees and the offense and that's just another thing that we have to overcome."
(On if Lance Moore is a guy that they wish they didn't let get away)- "It would be nice if he was here but there's a lot of guys like that that you have down the street. (Marques) Colston was at Hofstra which is across the street from the facility, literally across the street from the facility. Sometimes those guys get away on the flip side of that Wayne Chrebet walked over for a work out and he ended up playing there for a long time. Some you get and some you don't and you wish you get them all."
(On if the Falcons and Steelers defended them differently against the run after seeing them play against Baltimore and Cincinnati)- "Pittsburgh is the number one rush defense in the NFL. They're pretty good against every single team that they play. In the fourth quarter, it wasn't the same balance for us in terms of our run pass ratio because the score changed late there in the third quarter or I think those numbers would have been higher. Typically, the running game as the game goes on, the three yard runs become four yard runs or five yard runs because you start wearying down the defense. You've got to be able to do that through four quarters and that's keeping the game close. Against Atlanta I think it was a lot of things. I don't think that we dealt with their scheme very well. I don't think that we locked great up front, I don't think we ran very well, I don't think our runs were the best in terms of the ones we used. It was a group effort, we were all a part of that and it should have been better."
(On Billy Yates playing at right guard and Floyd Womack at right tackle yesterday at practice)- "Yes, and then the day before Shawn (Lauvao) was the right guard so they switch. One guy started Wednesday the other guy got the second reps then they flipped it and it's just to balance up the reps as we go through the week."
(On who is going to start at right guard between Lauvao and Yates)- "I think one of those two. Steve (Vallos) will work more as the back-up center, left guard but it will be one of those two guys. We'll see today."
(On how Floyd Womack played at right tackle last year)- "I thought he played well, I really did. Even before he was here he's played all over the offensive line, right tackle, left tackle, inside. Chop is one of those guys that nothing fazes him and regardless of where you put him he's going to do a good job, he's going to take care of his assignments, he's going to be sound. I really like that about him and you love guys like that. There's some guys if you move them from right guard to left guard it's like the sky is falling. It's this huge dramatic thing, I'm not saying on our team, but from right safety to left safety it's this big thing and there's other guys where it's like ‘Oh okay it's on the offensive line, right guard? No problem. Right tackle? No problem. Center? No problem.' Chop's one of the other guys."
(On how rookie offensive linemen sometime struggle and how Shawn Lauvao might do in his first action as a rookie)- "I think there's truth to the fact that there's growing pains and things that you have to deal with. The one guy that I saw that didn't struggle was Jonathan Ogden. When he went out there, and I think I've told this story, the first day they were all lining up to go against him. He just stoned person after person and the next day, that line got a lot smaller. He didn't struggle right from the beginning, he was impressive. I think Alex (Mack) did a good job when he started right from the beginning, but there were things that he had to work through. I feel like I've had a lot of them over time, Nick (Mangold), D'Brickashaw (Ferguson). There's going to be growing pains, but if Shawn does get the opportunity, I think he'll do a great job."
(On if Joe Haden will get reps with the base defense on Sunday)- "He works in there consistently, both for Eric (Wright) and Sheldon (Brown). He plays in nickel and dime. He's had some base reps throughout the course of the season. Like I said, he's been about a 40-50 percent play time guy already this year. We will just kind of see how it goes."
(On if he is still hoping for Delhomme or Wallace to be active Sunday)- "Yes, I'd say Seneca is a little further ahead than Jake, so he'd be closer."
(On what McCoy can learn from Drew Brees and his success being similar in height)- "I think just the fact that he has had that tremendous success. Typically what you do in evaluating players, and you can get caught up in this trap, is you're always defining what they can't do instead of what they can do. I think you sometimes fall in that trap of what they can't do because they're 5-8 or they're this speed or whatever the case may be. Year after year, guys go out that aren't your traditional height, weight, speed, didn't come from the right school, didn't follow the right path or whatever and excelled. I think it's just proof that those don't have to be tremendous limits, those don't have to be insurmountable barriers and Drew Brees is a great example of that. A guy who isn't your traditional quarterback height, but has performed at a tremendous level."
(On the key to McCoy's field vision and him not getting balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage last week)- "He's played at that height for awhile and I'm sure his line in college was the same thing. I think you just get a sense of how you have to view it and where the lines of sight are and that develops over time. He's had a lot of work behind big players. I don't think that was new for him. I don't know if that makes sense. He's played behind that type of group before."
(On if there was anything surprising in the video that was sent by the Commissioner)- "No, I think it was what you'd expect going through legal and illegal hits. Just reemphasizing the importance of player safety and just redefining that."
(On if he is okay with the idea that coaches could get fined for their players' illegal hits)- "It's all for the same reason, to try to move this forward."
(On if Mike Bell will have more of a role Sunday now that he has had a full week of practice)- "He played a decent number of snaps for how little of an amount of time he was here. It will depend on how it's going with Peyton (Hillis) and how much of his types of packages we end up playing. I think he feels that much more comfortable this week, we feel that much more comfortable with him this week. There's really no limits on what we would use him for."
(On if he showed the video from the league to the team yesterday)- "No, we didn't get it until last night, so we showed it this morning."
(On Alex Mack saying that James Harrison was using his helmet to everyone on every play and if that's what he saw)- "I didn't really go through it like that and identify it as hit after hit. You can talk more to Alex about that, but for me now on Friday, we are (working towards the next game). I think we all need to continue to try to do it right. I'm ready to move forward and talk about something different."
(On if guys will be more timid on Sunday)- "I don't know. We will have to see. I'm not sure."
(On if he expects Marcus Bernard to practice today)- "Yes, he's here this morning. It was for personal reason and everything's fine. He had to miss for personal reasons."
(On if helmet to helmet hits on ball carriers need to be addressed even though they are legal)- "I think that whatever the league decides, we will work on. I think they'll spend a lot of time this offseason with the competition committee and input from as many different people as possible to continue to expand player safety. In terms of anything right now, the league has to take the lead on it and we all need to do the best we can to make sure it's right."
V-Roll Roll Call
Brian Daboll's Friday Press Conference Video | clevelandbrowns.com
Who's Brian Daboll? Why he's the Browns offensive coordinator, that's who!
Rob Ryan's Friday Press Conference | clevelandbrowns.com
Watch the video to see if his speech is as colorful as his brother's. I love his hairstyle. Wild Grizzly Adams look. CLASSIC.